Of Scratches and Scrapes
by XxANYxAPHxAUxX
Summary: Elizabeta is an ex-tomboy magazine columnist who is assigned a very important job by her boss, Roderich: To visit an old Prussian fort and cover the soon to be demolition. Upon arriving at the mansion, she soon realizes she is not alone in this place, and it may just be the home to an old friend she thought was forgotten. PruHun and other pairings inside. Human AU
1. Chapter 1

**Of Scratches and Scrapes: Chapter 1**

_**CONTINUING FROM MY OTHER ACCOUNT!**_

**Oh glob, I really shouldn't be starting another fic. Bad me. Bad. But this perfect idea just popped into my head and jfkdasfjkdsfn I had to.**

**So this will be a PruHun, Spamano, USUK, Franada, temporary AusHun, and GerIta fic. Oh goodness are you all in for a treat.**

**As for my lack of updating The Midnight Game and TGPSET (too lazy to write the whole title :P), I promise I'm still alive and I will update when I get less writer's block-y. I have the plan for TGPSET, but every time I try to work on it, I get nothing. OTL**

**But anyways, here's my 4****th**** Hetalia fic, since they seem to be huge successes and I really love writing them~!**

***Victoria is Seychelles, since the Seychelles capital is Victoria.**

**Enjoy!**

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Scratches and scrapes. That's all Elizabeta could tell you if you asked her of her childhood. Scratches and scrapes. And it was these scratches and these scrapes that defined her. The countless sword fights with the mysterious boy whose name she couldn't remember if her life depended on it. The snake and spider bites that so commonly showed up on the two. The scratches on the bottom of her little feet from the sandpaper-like mud on the bottom of rivers and lakes. The lost fingernails and chunks of hair. The blood lost, the bloodshed. All part of the defining scratches and scrapes of her childhood. Those memories that, if you asked of her childhood, she would tell you about.

And then there was Roderich. The perfect, beautiful boy she had grown up with, fallen in love with, and gotten engaged to. The mystery boy from her scratches and scrapes memories had always tried to tease and hurt the polite, sophisticated Roderich. So Eliza would protect him. And she did up until their split up.

Oh God, how that boy was bothering her. The red eyes – if she could remember correctly – and the stupid smirk he had always worn. He must've been an albino, as no one normal has red eyes. What was his name? Elbert? No. George? Nope. In her dreams she had from her childhood, not one of them had said his name. And that's what bothered her most. She knew it. In the back of her mind it resided. Teasing her, giving her little hints and clues until it was sitting on the tip of her tongue, then leaving in a flash. If her memories could just serve her better… if only.

"-za… Liza… Liza, wake up!" The normally sweet but unusually cranky voice rang through Eliza's ears and hit them like cinderblocks.

Elizabeta snapped up in her seat, eyes flying open and heart racing a mile a minute. "Huh? What?" She yelled, looking around until her eyes hit a flash of blue. She looked at the figure in front of her and immediately calmed down. The big red bows tying down beautiful brunette hair, scowling hazel eyes, and cute little baby blue dress with puffy sleeves showed Eliza who had just yelled her name repeatedly. "Ah, hello, Victoria."

"Don't 'ah, hello, Victoria,' me!" The girl said sternly. "I have a big, big, _big_ job for you!" Victoria Seya, Elizabeta's superior and long time friend, loomed over her with an angry expression and had her hands on her hips. Her brunette hair was, as usual, tied to hang over her shoulders in two low pigtails held together with thick red ribbons. Her sweet, cute, hazel eyes were locked in an angered position and her little knee-length dress seemed a bit ruffled, and her hair was very messy, despite its easiness to handle. She held some papers and books that were very out of order. Although she was younger than Eliza, she was still a higher ranking than her.

"And what is that?" Elizabeta asked, still shaking the sleep away, despite her exciting wake-up call.

Victoria slammed the heavy stack of papers and books down onto the desk. If Elizabeta wasn't awake already, she would be now. The loud slap of the items smacking down onto her desk echoed throughout the cubicle. Eliza visibly winced, but her superior seemed unfazed.

In Elizabeta's entire career as a magazine columnist, this had to have been the largest assignment she's gotten. So many books and papers all stacked, along with one large manila folder. Elizabeta poked the stack as if it were to bite her if she got too close. "Holy wow, Victoria, what's in this folder, a brick?"

"No, your job. Literally. If you don't do this job, Boss Edelstein said he's going to fire you."

"But I've had a perfect record up until this point! What is he thinking giving me a job like this? How much time do I have?"

"A month."

"Only a month?" Elizabeta exclaimed, standing up in her chair. "Roderich needs to chill! I'm just one girl! Tell me you're going to help me!" She begged.

"I can't. I have my job, too, you know. And he'll fire me if I don't get it done, too." Victoria frowned.

Elizabeta groaned. "I'm going to go talk to him." She bolted out of her cubicle, her long, brown hair being released from its restricting ponytail and falling down her back. She made sure she had her pink flower hairclip in. She couldn't remember where she had gotten it, but it had been in her possession for a while now. She rubbed the sleep out of her still tired green eyes and quietly knocked on her boss and former fiancé's door. She poked her head inside to see the handsome man sitting at the desk, filing some papers and reviewing some columns.

He looked up and smiled at the sight of Elizabeta. "Ah, hello, Eliza. What can I do for you?" He smiled, his violet eyes softening. His short brown hair seemed black in the low lighting and the one wild strand that stuck up from his hair was obvious as always. He put his glasses on as he looked back at some more papers.

"Well, um, Mister Roderich, I believe there's been a mistake here. You see, I have a perfect work record here, so there's no way I'd be fired for not doing one little job. Right?" Eliza said as she stepped into the room, shaking a little in all nervousness, but also partly because she had always been nervous around Roderich. He just had that effect on her.

"One little job? Did Victoria not deliver the papers?"

"N-no, she did, but the thing is, I think the punishment for not getting it in such a short time is a bit extreme, considering my consistent work habits and perfect attendance." Elizabeta rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Oh, Eliza, I really am sorry, but this job is extremely important. I absolutely need it by the end of the month or I could lose my job as well."

"Wait, wait, hold on, by the end of the month?"

Roderich nodded.

"Victoria told me I had a _full _month!"

Roderich sighed. "How unreliable."

"So are you going to extend the due date?" Eliza crossed her fingers.

Roderich shook his head. "No, but what I'm going to do is have you read everything in the manila folder today. That is the basis of your assignment. Then I'm going to ship you out tomorrow and you will stay in a hotel near the area. If all goes well, I'd have given you enough time to finish it."

Elizabeta sighed. She really wished she had a frying pan and that Roderich wasn't so handsome that she wouldn't be scared of messing up his gorgeous face if she hit him with it. She simply nodded.

"I'm sorry. How about I show you my latest piece as an apology?" He offered, pointing to his piano.

Eliza smiled and nodded. He always knew how to cheer her up. He walked over to his piano and sat down on the stool, quickly placing his sheet music in front of him and began to play.

Elizabeta, for once, didn't really listen to the music and kept her mind on that stupid assignment. So much stuff to do, so much little time to do it.

And if she didn't get it done in the time allotted, she'd lose her only job.

_**~Hetalia~**_

Elizabeta woke in a groggy, messed up state. She had been up all night reading the several papers and things from the huge stack she had received the day before. Luckily, she had discovered that not all of the books and papers had been her assignment. About half of it was stuff to help her on the assignment, which Roderich had selflessly given her. She was happy that he was still looking out for her.

She rose out of her bed, yawning and stretching out her limbs. Soon, she'd be heading off to East Germany to investigate an old Prussian mansion from the 1900's and its soon-to-be demolition to make room for more forest. She had an interview with the man who was tearing it down, patriot Alfred F. Jones, at the end of the month. It didn't seem like that big of a job. She was happy to see the small job she was given. However, she also had to do research on the historical mansion, and that's what the books and several papers had included.

She hopped out of her bed and made her way to her bathroom, where she took a quick shower and got dressed, brushing out her long hair and clipping her flower pin in it. She decided she'd just grab a coffee at work for her breakfast and headed out the door, eager to get to where she was going.

She arrived at work and greeted a few people, walking to Victoria's cubicle. Said girl looked up and smiled at her. "Hello, Liza."

"Hey, Victoria, who has two thumbs and has the easiest job in the world?" Elizabeta grinned.

Victoria sighed. "Who?"

Eliza pointed to herself with both thumbs. "This girl!"

"I thought your job was super hard."

"Nah, it's just investigating some German, er, Prussian mansion and its demolition."

"Oh, sounds fun. You get to go to Germany?" Victoria said enviously.

Elizabeta nodded. "Yup!"

"Lucky!"

Before Elizabeta could say anything else, Roderich came from around the corner and tapped her shoulder. "Time to go, Miss Elizabeta."

Eliza nodded and said her goodbye to Victoria. She followed Roderich to the car, where she and he grabbed a taxi to the airport.

_**~Hetalia~**_

"Alright, you have everything you need?" Roderich asked at the gate as group A was lining up to get on the plane. Elizabeta was in group D, so she would be last to board.

"Yes, I have all my information, clothes, and anything I need. Stop worrying, Mister Roderich." Elizabeta waved her hand dismissively.

"I apologize, but I cannot help but worry about you."

Eliza looked away and tried to hide her blush. In no time, group D was ready to board. Before Elizabeta walked off, Roderich grabbed her arm.

"I never stopped loving you, Eliza." He commented.

Elizabeta felt her whole face heat up. "Wh-what?" She figured she had not heard him correctly.

"I said I still love you." Roderich made sure she would hear him clearly this time. He let go of her arm. "Now go board before you miss your plane." He smiled at her.

Eliza, eyes widened and face flushed, nodded and walked off, occasionally looking back at him. He waved at her as she entered the tunnel to the plane. She waved back, still dumbfounded by what he said.

Well, she'd have plenty of time to think about it on the plane.

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**Sooo? How was the setup? Did you love it or did you love it?**

**I know, short chapter is short. I couldn't help it…**

**Anyways, next chapter will have the awesome albino in it, I swear, I just have a bad habit of not introducing main love interests in the beginning of my stories. All you readers that have read TGPSET know what I'm talking about.**

**Anyways, reviews keep me warm at night, so review please!**

**Make pasta, not war~!**

**~TheAwesomeMe872**


	2. Chapter 2

**Of Scratches and Scrapes: Chapter 2**

*****EDITED FOR ERRORS PREVIOUSLY MADE*****

**Chapter 2, baby! How you guys like the new format? The center and stuff. I like it. :3**

**So here's chapter 2, and I wanna say happy late Hetalia Day and happy (super duper) late birthday to me~! It was September 17****th**** OTL**

**But anyways here's the next chapter, this one will have ZE AWESOME PRUSSIA in it as promised. :D**

**So now I shall list the characters from both last chapter and this one so you know the human names. (In order of appearance.)**

**Elizabeta ****Héderváry**** – Hungary**

**Victoria Seya – Seychelles**

**Roderich Edelstein – Austria**

**Alfred F. Jones – America**

**Arthur Kirkland – England**

**Gilbert Beilschmidt – Prussia**

***Eliz will be chibi!male!Hungary's name since I just felt too lazy to look up what it actually is. I'll only use it for like 2 paragraphs anyways.**

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"I never stopped loving you, Eliza." He commented.

Elizabeta felt her whole face heat up. "Wh-what?" She figured she had not heard him correctly.

"I said I still love you." Roderich made sure she would hear him clearly this time. He let go of her arm. "Now go board before you miss your plane." He smiled at her.

Eliza, eyes widened and face flushed, nodded and walked off, occasionally looking back at him. He waved at her as she entered the tunnel to the plane. She waved back, still dumbfounded by what he said.

Well, she'd have plenty of time to think about it on the plane.

_**~Hetalia~**_

Elizabeta continued to look through the several books that contained her job. They were so confusing, she had no clue what she was reading, had to go back and reread, then not comprehend it and do the whole cycle over again. Finally she just gave up and pushed the papers and books aside.

"Prussian history?" A voice next to her asked curiously. Elizabeta jumped a little in her seat and looked to her side. A man with blonde hair and bushy eyebrows was looking over her book, green eyes scanning the page.

Eliza calmed down and nodded. "Yeah, um, yes."

"May I take a look?" He pointed to the book that had a bit of history on the Prussian architecture.

Elizabeta slid the book over to him. He took it and began to inspect it a bit before opening it and reading. "You like architecture?" She asked.

The man nodded. "I'm an architect. And a historian." He added the last sentence a bit last minute. Elizabeta could tell he was British.

"Well good, maybe you could help me out a little. I'm a bit clueless." She realized she had not yet introduced herself. She held out a hand for him. "I'm Elizabeta. Elizabeta Héderváry."

He looked at the hand she had offered and took it, shaking lightly. "Arthur Kirkland."

"So what are you doing on a plane to Germany?" Elizabeta figured she'd get acquainted first.

"There are some fine architectural pieces I can find there." Arthur said, holding up the book for her. "Why are _you_ on a plane to Germany?"

"Writing a magazine article on an old Prussian mansion. It's scheduled to be destroyed soon, so I have to cover the story." She took out an old black and white photograph of the building. "Here it is."

Arthur examined the paper, and he looked amazed by the building. "It's gorgeous." He said, astonished.

"Yes, but, unfortunately it's grown old and dusty, and some people have gotten sick off of the germs it gives off, so we have to tear it down."

"That's awful! Can't we just clean it up?" Arthur exclaimed, still trying to be decently quiet since they were on a plane and all.

"I wonder if we could but some patriot names Alfred Jones wants it gone." Elizabeta shrugged.

"Of course he does…" Arthur mumbled.

"You know him?"

"Unfortunately."

"How?"

"He has torn down some of my favorite buildings. I try and protest the git but it doesn't get me very far. He's very stubborn."

"That's awful." Eliza frowned. She could see him tense up at the sound of the American's name, but she could also see, if her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, a faint blush on his face. Or maybe it was just the heat of the airplane. Who knew?

Arthur picked up the Prussian architecture book and continued to inspect it, muttering things as he went along. Elizabeta looked over some news article clippings to pass the time. However, when she was younger, she had told Roderich that she could speak German when he asked, although she did not know one word of the language. Apparently it stuck, so some of the clippings she had received, which also looked to be very helpful, were in German. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, slumping down. She couldn't think of him right now. It was too complicated with what he had said to her at the gate.

'_He still loves me, huh?_' She thought, letting out a long and drawn-out breath. She thought of him sweeping her off of her feet when she returned from Germany. Maybe they could give the relationship another go. Her stomach fluttered when the thought popped up into her mind. They could get married and she could rise up early to listen to him play his piano like she did when they were engaged. Yes, she liked that idea.

She allowed her eyes to ease shut, believing that sleep could pass the time. The seat in front of her was closed underneath her eyelids as she slowly but surely dozed off.

_**~Hetalia~**_

Eliza's eyes fluttered open to the pilot's scratchy voice echoing throughout the plane. He said something about a bit of a bumpy ride, and arriving at their destination in about 45 minutes. Elizabeta yawned, sitting up straight and stretching out her limbs. Man, would she be glad to get off this cramped little plane. She looked over at Arthur, who had taken to studying some of the other clippings and books she had gathered.

"You speak German?" He asked, inspecting a few of the foreign clippings.

"Uh, no. My boss thought I did so he gave me those. I don't suppose _you_ speak German?" She asked hopefully.

Arthur shook his head.

Elizabeta looked away. "Of course you don't. Online translator it is, then." She said, finally concluding that she would not have much luck in Germany without a translator or a brief knowledge of the language.

'_Oh, this is not gonna be a fun trip._' She thought.

Arthur seemed completely absorbed in the books he understood. Elizabeta crossed her arms and resorted to twiddling her thumbs to pass the time, as it didn't seem the Brit next to her was about to give up her readings.

_**~Hetalia~**_

The plane finally began its decent, and Elizabeta couldn't have felt happier. That is, if her ears would pop. They almost hurt from the tightness of the altitude, but once they were about 100 feet off the ground, they finally popped, Eliza sighing in relief. Arthur had since finished the research a while ago, and had handed the readings back to her. She stowed away in a little bag and stored under the seat in front of her, as part of airplane regulations.

Elizabeta could feel the wheels of the aircraft hit the ground and it jolted her forward a little. But finally the large plane landed and she was officially in Germany. She looked out the window and noticed it was dark out, and the world seemed to be shut off. She was tired, so it must've been late at night, or maybe it was her journey that was tiring. She turned on her phone and noticed it was midnight. '_Are you serious, I have to find a hotel room at midnight with a bunch of Germans who don't speak English?_' She thought, but got up out of her seat and made her way down the aisle, slowly at that. She finally made it to the gate and immediately bolted through security as fast as she could and got out of the airport.

She hailed a taxi, hoping the driver could speak English. One pulled up next to her and she crawled into the small white-ish vehicle.

He told her something in German and she scrambled in her research bag to get out one of the German articles on the old fort and its address. She showed it to him and used what rough German she could. "Uh, hotel… er, nahe… dort?" She guessed, hoping she had just said 'hotel near there.'

The driver looked at her weirdly, yet he seemed like he understood. He glanced at the address on the paper and began to drive, thinking of a hotel near the old woods where the mansion was located.

Eliza sighed and sat back, tired and hoping the mansion was far away so she could sleep for a while.

_**~Hetalia~**_

The taxi passes the large expanse of woods, Eliza looking at the dark area. It seemed ominous, suspicious. She decided it was a little scary so she looked forward to the dark road, where she could only see as far as the dim headlights could. She squinted to see the carless road in front of them, but it didn't do much good. She looked back at the woods and thought of climbing those trees. Maybe there was a lake or little river in there she could swim in. Oh! And lots of berries to eat, too! And maybe there was a-

She cut herself off and shook her head, trying to rid of the thoughts. '_No, Liza,_' she mentally scolded herself, '_you're a lady now._'

Soon the huge chunk of woods faded away and a small town came into view. No lights were on, no cars were out, just a dim little residence. She noticed a glowing sign that said "MOTEL" in big bold letters, but the light was dim and fading. Three stories and lots of rooms. They'd be bound to have some room for her, especially since it seemed like this wasn't the tourist type of town anyways.

The cab pulled up in the driveway of the motel, and Elizabeta climbed out, grabbing her bags and paying the man. "Er, danke?" She guessed.

The driver nodded and quickly drove off, fading away into the darkness. Elizabeta picked up her things and noticed there was a dim little room lit up. She smiled and noticed there was a rather bored-looking lady at the desk.

Eliza quickly ran inside out of the cold and, after about a half an hour of trying to understand the German lady, got her key to her room and ran over to it. She unlocked the door and entered the chilly room, immediately turning on the heater. Jeeze, it was freezing. She set her suitcase down and lay down on the bed, determined to finally get some sleep.

_**~Hetalia~**_

Elizabeta couldn't sleep. All she could think about was the woods. The trees practically called her, pulling at her with icy fingers and trying to guide her to their depths. She wanted to explore, to run and jump, just like the good old days.

'_Okay, maybe just this once, I'll break my girly-ness._' She decided hopping out of her bed, still in her frilly green nightgown that could've passed as a regular dress. She slipped on some boots and grabbed a few things, such as an emergency knife she had somehow managed to sneak past security at the airport. She put that, some other things, and her key inside a little satchel and snuck out of the little room, tiptoeing to the parking lot. She could see the woods; smell the trees and the dew from the moist, cold air on the grass. She started at a slow, steady walk, but quickly broke out into a run as she slammed into the thicket of trees, finally feeling at home.

She rolled around on the grass, climbed trees, and successfully managed to tear up the hem of her gown. But she didn't care. She laughed and pet wild rabbits and squirrels, and not once did she ever question herself.

That is, until she didn't know where she was anymore.

She glanced around in several directions but found nothing but a dark expanse of trees looming over her. She shivered and realized how much of a mistake she had made. She had to find her way out, or she'd be cold all night and get sick. She could have climbed a tree and slept in one, but she had already snapped one branch that night and wasn't so sure if she trusted the thin limbs.

Elizabeta wandered around for what seemed like hours, but must've been merely 30 minutes. She found that nature didn't hold back from giving her a hard time, as she constantly tripped over everything in sight, rather, not sight.

Soon she found an opening of trees. She sighed and smiled hopefully as she ran towards the opening, but was shocked at what she saw.

A huge building, probably three or four stories high with many boarded up windows and a large tower at the top. She looked around the space and saw several tattered and burned black and white flags with a small decoration in the middle. The Prussian flag. This was the Prussian mansion she had to research.

The place was magnificent, and you could tell there were scratches of a Prussian blue color on the outer walls that had long since faded away. She could see it in her mind. When the building was new and freshly painted, when people probably held parties and had lots of champagne and told funny stories back in the early 1900's. But that history had faded away, and this was all that was left out of it. Broken, dusty, beaten down.

Eliza coughed at the fumes that emerged when she even touched the wall. She couldn't imagine how filthy it was inside. But she had to see. Not for the magazine or for Roderich or even for a place to stay the night. But for curiosity.

She pushed on the door, which did not budge. But she was not about to give up so easily. She took a frying pan from her satchel and held it in her wrists, revving up to hit the door with all she had. It was okay, today was not a classy day. She could hit whatever she wanted. She swung back and took a swing at the door, which opened with a slam. Elizabeta was greeted with a lot of dust and fumes of mold and other nasty germs. She had a little coughing fit before settling down, grabbing her bag and making her way inside. She looked over the place. The moon actually lit it well. There was old dusty furniture that looked as if the moths had gotten to it and lots of boards and planks piling on top of each other. To her left she could see a kitchen and to her right seemed to be a ballroom or maybe a second living room. In front of her stood a large, grand staircase with pretty, decorative railing. On the top there was a large painting of Frederick the Great and lots of other little paintings surrounding it. Some were of flowers, some of pretty 1800's ladies, and one of a young-looking albino, looking to be about 16 at the oldest. There were birds and little, yellow, fluffy chicks. Whoever lived here before it was abandoned must've liked birds.

She walked up the staircase and examined the albino's painting more closely. She blew a puff of air at it to get the dust off and even wiped it with her muddy hand, actually clearing up the picture. He was dressed in modern clothes, she couldn't have imagined why he needed to be painted. There must've been photography when this was made. She looked into the deep red eyes and felt a sense of familiarity. As if she knew the boy in this picture.

"Mein Gott, who are you and what are you doing in my house?!" A German accent yelled from atop the stairs next to her. Elizabeta gasped and glanced over to the dark silhouette emerging from the equally as beautiful yet rusty stairs. She backed up a bit, tearing her eyes away from the boy in the painting.

"I-I'm _so_ sorry, I was informed nobody lived here!" Elizabeta apologized. She backed up against a patch of the wall that was clear of any pictures.

"Well I do!" The figure got closer and closer.

"I'm sorry, I'll leave immediately!" Eliza said, turning her head to follow the male figure that crept closer and closer to her.

The man growled and raised his hand up. Elizabeta held her arms in front of her face, thinking he was going to strike her, when he simply put his hand to his mouth and whistled loudly. The whistle echoed throughout all the rooms, halls, and corridors as a thousand bats emerged from every room. Eliza crouched down, covering her head and neck with her arms to protect herself. When she felt no strike to herself, she looked up, opening her eyes to see what she saw. They were not bats. They were little yellow birds. Like the ones in the paintings. She noticed that the whole house seemed to be lit up by many candles. It looked like a castle from where she could see. A large crystal chandelier swung high and proud by the high ceiling and many lit candles burned inside it.

It was truly magnificent.

She looked up at the man, who offered her a hand to help her up. She reluctantly took it, and he hoisted her up with ease. "Th-thank you." She said. "I must say, your home is beautiful." She looked around at the rusted but still gorgeous place.

"Danke! Nothing less to expect from the awesome me! Ksesese!" He chuckled.

Eliza gasped. She knew she knew this man from somewhere. But where?

He looked over at her and really examined her. He started at her feet, her brown, lace-up boots going to the middle of her shin. Then he looked at her tattered night gown, cold and wet and heavy on her skin from soaking in the moist air outside and rolling around on the wet grass. Then he looked at her face. Despite the weariness, the bags under her eyes, and the massive headache causing a few temporary wrinkles, she still looked lovely as ever. He looked at her hair, the way it matted with the mud and dew drops in it, but still managed to fall over her back as if it didn't care that it was filthy and greasy. He looked into her green eyes for a while before looking up at her flower pin and gasping.

"You… where did you get that pin?" He pointed to it.

Elizabeta looked at him questioningly before realizing what he had refered to. She cupped it in her hand. "Oh, this? I don't know, I've had it for a while, though-"

"Elizabeta." He said, seeming hypnotized by the pin.

"What?" She asked, then wondering how he knew her name.

His eyes flicked back to her face. "What?" He asked curiously.

"You just said my name."

"No I didn't. Stupid man-lady." He could tell from her appearance that she was a tomboy.

Elizabeta was about to retaliate to the insult when she recognized the phrase. She could barely remember the faint memory.

"_Come on, stupid man-lady, hurry up!" The young albino boy yelled as Eliz stumbled up the hill._

"_Jeeze, _, you sure are loud. Shut up and wait." The brunette said as he finally caught up to him._

Damn, what was his name?

"_Now what's that damn surprise you were mentioning?" He asked plainly._

"_Alright, here it is!" The boy held out a small pin with a pretty pink flower attached to it._

_Eliz glared at the small trinket. "What the hell is this about, _?"_

"_It's about you being a weak little woman!" The boy teased him. True, he'd been a little slow lately, but he was still a man, nonetheless! "So I got you a pretty hairpin!"_

"_You asshole, I could slice your arm off for doing something so disrespectful to me!" He yelled as his face turned red at the embarrassment. "Where's your honor?"_

"_Honor, schmonor, baby! Ksesese!" He threw the pin at him. "Take it, I already spent the money."_

_Eliz scoffed. "Jerk. Stupid gag gift." He pocketed the gift, however._

_The boy blushed as he stored the pin in his pocket. He really didn't want the gift to be serious, but the fact that he had kept it instead of throwing it into the woods made him happy despite himself. He'd slowly gotten to like the company of Eliz, and maybe a little more than friendly, too, but the fact that he was a guy made it a whole lot more conflicting._

_Eh, who cares? They had fun and that's all that mattered._

Elizabeta felt both happy and sad at the memory. She remembered her gender-confused days up until her chest grew and the albino boy got intimidated and ran away. She hadn't seen him since. She could remember his obnoxious little laugh, 'ksesese!'

"Ksesese! So my insult was so great that I have rendered you speechless?" The voice knocked her out of her nostalgic daydream.

"What? No! I just… gah!" She groaned. She didn't know how to explain what she was feeling. She pushed her back up against the wall and shivered.

"You're cold?" The man asked, sounding genuinely and legitimately concerned.

Eliza nodded. "It's really cold outside."

The man took her hand. "The names Gilbert. But you can call me Awesome." He chuckled a normal laugh. "Here, I have some clothes you can use. Just spend the night here. It's easier to travel around in the morning."

"How did you know I was lost?" She asked.

There was a long pause before he sighed. "No one ever comes here unless they're lost." He began to walk up the stairs he came from. "Follow the awesome me."

Elizabeta rolled her eyes at his self-given nickname, but followed him nonetheless.

He led her to a room with powder blue, chipping walls and a big queen-sized bed. It looked dusty, but she figured she wouldn't mind.

He gave her a nice, warm night gown. She was too tired to question why he had women's clothing. He probably had a wife or a girlfriend or something.

"Does anyone else live here with you?" Elizabeta asked as he brought her a warm cup of tea.

"Nope. Only me and my army of Gilbirds." Gilbert said, handing her the tray with the drinks.

Eliza chuckled at the name. "You named your birds after yourself?"

Gilbert nodded. "I am awesome, they are awesome! They should inherit my awesome name!" He said.

Elizabeta giggled and took a sip of tea.

Gilbert allowed his face to go serious. "But you know," this caught her attention, "you cannot come back to this place."

Elizabeta's hands felt like ice at this comment, despite the warm tea and long-sleeved gown she wore. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not registered as living here. I live here for free." He said.

"Oh… I see." She remembered the demolition that was soon to come to this place. They didn't know Gilbert lived here. He was in danger.

"That is why…" He started. "That is why you cannot tell a soul I live here. Never speak of this visit."

Elizabeta frowned. "What if I do?"

He looked at her with an icy stare. "I'd have to force you to live here."

* * *

**Hellou~! ;P**

**Long chapter is VERY long! X_X Over 4,000 words to be exact.**

_**IT'S OVER 4,000!**_

**I'm back, you guys! My dad was sick today so I got the day off of school to take care of him so that's the only reason this is here. XD**

**Okay, so, um, I'm too tired to proof-read this, so I will fix all mistakes tomorrow. :3**

**Please excuse my German, I took Spanish in school instead… I just asked my German–speaking friend what each word would roughly translate to. :3**

**Make pasta, not war~!**

**~TheAwesomeMe872**


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